Which is NOT to say that there aren’t tons of great writers on the internet, because clearly, there are. They write stuff, and blogs, and fanfic and all of the rest of it. I love those folks, even when I’m not interested in what they write.

But as a note to Ryan Murphy and Steven Moffat — they do not replace the comprehensive mind of a show runner.

I’m on record as being delighted the Murphy appeared to have listened to the internet a lot when he was writing both the Kline proposal, and The Quarterback. I stand by those being some of the best shows I saw in the last of 2013. Moffat did the same with the 50th anniversary show. Again, some of the best TV I saw last year (even with the systematic dismantling of RTD years and the rage sputter that creates for me).

But what happens when you write yourself into a corner, wait too long, and let the internet dig you out of a hole? From the write ups I have seen so far about the new Sherlock episode, you get stuff like this:

From collar pop to hair ruffle it is a perfect rendition of what a chunk of the fan base wants – and not the answer. As are a number of theories that are worked through – but not the answer.

Watching twitter & tumblr last night it was all giddy reaction and happy screeching. A fair number of those folks have come back online today and talked about how it didn’t feel cohesive, it was out of step for the characters, that it was too disjointed, etc …

(See also Glee’s puppet show & Christmas episode, also the Doctor Who Christmas episode).

Fandoms have the real potential to be like children. We want what we want, but it is actually better for us if it isn’t constantly handed to us by a fearful show runner who is afraid of the internet tantrum that will ensue if he follows an inner vision as opposed to fanfic.

Now watch, when I finally see the Sherlock episode the emotional skill of the actors will cover up all the rest of all of it.